Mile 13
by Herascat
Summary: Swan Queen Week Day 1. Meet/Cute AU.


Day 1: Meet/Cute AU Unedited and a bit more rushed than I like posting but here it is.

* * *

Breathe in…one, two, three. Breathe out…one, two, three. The sound of her pounding footfalls reverberated through the steady beat of the Black Eyed Peas and she let her mind wander to the events that led to her being here.

It had all started out so perfectly. She and Daniel had gotten married right after college, her going in to politics and becoming mayor of the small town they lived in before thirty and him getting his law degree and becoming partner at the only corporate law firm in the area. When Daniel and her had Henry everything had seemed perfect.

She remembered going on walks with Henry daily early on, but as time passed and as Henry grew the time for herself had disappeared. Daniel had maintained a life away from the house while she had dedicated herself to the town and to their son. After Henry started school she noticed how far her and her husband had drifted apart. He no longer looked at her wider hips and larger breasts…to be fair she had given up looking at her larger body. Despite every good intention the gym remained out of reach and their home equipment sat unused.

She came to find out that he _had _been looking at his partner at the law firm. She remembered that day with startling clarity, walking into his office one evening to bring him dinner after he'd begged off coming home again. She had walked in his office to find his head between the redhead's legs. She covered Henry's eyes and steered him out of the room before Daniel could even stand. She hadn't bothered to turn as he raced after her, wiping the evidence of his indiscretions from his face.

"Don't come home tonight." She threw behind her as she finished fastening Henry into his car seat. He huffed, disgruntled that his apology had been cut off so surely.

"Reggie, I'm sorry…I don't know what I was thinking."

She turned to him, the lack of tears a key indicator to her of how long decayed their relationship was. "Don't come home tonight."

On the way home she called the local sheriff, a man with whom she worked closely. "Graham, I need you to meet me at the manor with a new set of locks. I don't want Daniel near me tonight."

The divorce had been swift with Daniel fighting for very little. After all, in a small town gossip spread like fire and he was disgraced before they ever entered the courthouse.

On her first night of freedom Regina had far too much energy to sleep after her little price was asleep, so she wandered the house. A long unused treadmill sat in the basement and for the first time in a long time her mind settled on a goal.

She was a woman of action so the next day Henry got a bike and would ride beside her for shorter runs and she had Graham watch him for the longer ones if they didn't fit into her work schedule when Henry was at school.

The man had become her best friend and before she knew it they were spending long hours outside work together. She knew the rest of the town thought they were sleeping together, but Graham was far too busy mooning over the local diner's waitress to pay attention to Regina in that way. This suited her just fine.

It was Graham who had pushed her to step out of her comfort zone and sign up for the Boston Marathon, and it was Graham who waited for her at the finish line with Henry. The music stopped abruptly and her step faltered. A hand brushed her side.

"I'm sorry." A breathless blonde whose green eyes sparkled smiled at her. Regina's breath caught at the sight of the beautiful woman beside her. She pulled out the useless ear buds and draped the cord over her neck. "You seemed to have a nice pace going so I was kind of following you." She didn't mention that the view had drawn her in.

"My I-Pod just died." She smiled ruefully as her pace continued flagging incrementally. She wasn't used to talking to anyone while running.

"If you can keep up the pace you had going for these last few miles we can swap." She was panting, "I'll just keep following since I haven't even been using it." She was already pulling the device out of her arm band and handing it to the other woman.

She'd been following the brunette with a fantastic ass since mile 13 and the pace had been steady for almost 10 miles. As soon as the music had stopped the pace had died. If they kept up the earlier pace they could be sub 4:00 for the race.

After some adjustments Emma could hear Tech Nine coming out the headphones still draped over a glistening tan neck. The longer she stared at this stranger the more she longed to lick the perspiration from the caramel skin. "I'm Emma, by the way."

"Regina." She put the ear buds in and they were off again.

Looking at Emma made her nervous. She hadn't really been attracted to anyone since Daniel and her divorce had left her with little self-esteem. She knew that she'd lost all of the weight she'd gained with Henry and after, but she still felt like the overweight woman whose husband had cheated on her. This woman made long dormant butterflies flutter to life in the pit of her stomach.

There was a tap on her shoulder and she pulled one ear bud out.

"If we pick up the pace this last quarter mile I think we can break 3:55." The answering grin Emma got shot a bolt of arousal through her. "Follow me."

The pace was punishing but as they crossed the finish line Regina had never felt better. Both of them grinned as Emma stopped her watch. "Looks like unofficial time is 3:54:33."

Regina threw her arms around the younger blonde, breathing in the earthy vanilla scent of her.

"Mommy!" Regina pulled away to catch the small body of her six year old. Graham sauntered up behind him.

"Congratulations, Regina." He gave her a quick hug.

"Emma this is my son Henry and my friend Graham…" She turned to find the blondes face pinched in distaste and her voice trailed off.

Graham noticed the way Emma had been watching Regina and the dismay on her face as he had touched the brunette woman. He saved Regina from having to flounder in the awkwardness she didn't completely understand. "Hello Emma, I'm the sometimes babysitter and platonic friend to this one here." His thumb jutted out towards Regina's reddening face.

"What's platonic?" Henry's voice cut through the tension. Despite the relief on her face Emma still looked ready to bolt.

"Well Henry, it means that your mom and I don't kiss each other."

Henry's face scrunched up. "No, you wanna kiss Ruby." A blush crept up Grahams face even as he nodded in the affirmative.

Regina was the first to recover. "Why don't we all go out to lunch so we can get our I-Pods sorted out and wait for official results."

Emma was about to decline. Despite her interest in the beautiful woman in front of her this situation looked complicated and she didn't do complicated. That is until Henry grabbed her hand and started pulling her toward a diner he had spotted earlier. She sent a pleading look toward his mother.

Regina laughed at her son, grateful that he had corralled the skittish blonde before she had run off. "Honey, Emma might have somewhere to be. You can't just go dragging people around."

The out she was giving Emma was obvious, but for once Emma threw caution to the wind and replied, "Nope, I was just going to go home but a burger and fries sounds wonderful." The beaming smile she received from Regina was well worth any awkwardness.

When they got their booth at the diner Regina slid in next to Emma deciding that it was the least uncomfortable seating arrangement. She was disappointed when Emma scooted to the corner of the booth and placed a leg on the bench between them. She found herself almost pouting. Maybe she had just been imagining the lingering looks.

"I really appreciate you lending me the music. Those last few miles would have been brutal without it. I don't know how you didn't have any the whole race." She slid the device toward the blonde.

"Not a problem." She glanced toward the two other people at the table. "Are you all planning on staying in Boston for a few days?"

Regina was the one to shrug. "I'd love to but Henry needs to get back to school. Boston has always been on my bucket list though."

Graham hid the smug grin that threatened to bloom as Emma glanced longingly at his friend. "You know I could take Henry for a few days. We could have guy time, would you like that Henry?" The toothy grin was all the affirmation that Regina needed. Graham was one of the only people she trusted Henry with.

"Will you take me to the woods to see all the animals?" Graham and Henry spoke as though it was a done deal and perhaps it was Regina conceded silently.

"Are you sure it's alright?" The hopeful tone in her voice had Emma squirming in her seat.

The decision had been made by Graham before Regina even realized there was a choice. The meal passed swiftly and Regina was waving goodbye to the two boys on the bus before she knew it.

"Did you have somewhere to stay?" The blonde asked as Regina blinked back tears.

"I was going to get my car from the garage near the race start and get a hotel."

Regina watched the blonde scuff the toe of her shoe against the ground, suddenly realizing how innocent she looked in that moment. "If you need a place to stay I have a sofa bed at my place." Emma desperately tried not to sound too eager, but Regina had been driving her crazy since mile 13 and she didn't want to resist the pull any longer.

A shy smile greeted her finally raised eyes. "Are you sure? We've only just met today, after all."

"Of course." She took a chance, looping her arm through Regina's her arm brushing against breast and race number. "You don't strike me as the serial killer type."

She allowed Regina to lead them to her car and slid into the passenger's seat to give directions to their destination.

The moment the door closed behind them Emma turned, catching Regina's eyes moving back up her body. All it took was a matter of seconds for her to have the beautiful Latina pinned against the wall. "If you don't want this you need to tell me now because from the moment I saw you I knew I wanted you, but if you don't want this I'll back off and we can just be friends."

Regina's eyes went wide. "No, I want this…I...I've just never been with a woman before." Her eyes dropped to where their toes almost touched.

Emma used a finger to lift brown eyes to meet hers. "Just trust yourself." She closed the distance to place a chaste kiss on full lips.

When she pulled back, Regina's eyes had fluttered shut and a soft smile graced her lips. Emma pulled her tighter against her body and let the kisses get more passionate. "Come to bed with me." She whispered against Regina's lips as she walked them toward the bedroom.

"You're going to come back, right?" Emma tried to smother the neediness she could feel bleeding through. Two days and she was already too attached for her own comfort.

The only part of the city Regina had seen was Emma's apartment and a deli down the street. "Well I want to see the rest of the city at some point, so I suppose." She teased, feeling lighthearted for the first time in years. She cupped Emma's cheek in her hand. "You have my number and if you ever get the wild desire to visit Maine you know where to find me." She brought their lips together tenderly.

"I'll see you soon."

As Regina drove away she let a tear fall. It would be so easy to let Emma into her life, but she knew that the blonde was less than likely to ever reach out to her again. Her cell phone beeped _Text Message From: Emma. _She had the phone read it aloud. _Let me know when you get home safe. I'll see you in two weeks. _Regina wiped the tear from her cheek and smiled. Perhaps things would work out after all.


End file.
